The Thing I Love Most
by Ken no Kakera
Summary: InuYasha's whole life revolves around a single premonition. Will it finally come true when he meets a mysterious blackrobed figure?


The Thing I Love Most

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Disclaimer: InuYasha, Kagome, and Sota do not belong to me. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and the people who publish the manga/make the anime. Those are pretty much the only characters I use in this story, except the bandits, who I made up.

A/N: ~~~ ** means a change in scene. I have to admit that I thought of this story while watching the Fairly Odd Parents movie, "Abra Catastrophe," or however you spell it. This was also hugely inspired by the "Rurouni Kenshin" episodes when he deals with that pirate leader who was a woman. I forgot what they were called, though. @_@

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Chapter 1: Alone

"BASTARD!!!!" InuYasha yelled as he slugged the guy in front of him. 

"What's wrong?" sneered the huge man in front of InuYasha, now with a black eye. "You shouldn't be ashamed, just because you're a son-of-a-bitch half-breed!!!"

InuYasha tried ignoring him while he concentrated on finding a weak spot in the giant before him.

It was kind of weird for InuYasha to be fighting a man taller than him, as the hanyou was over six feet tall. But that didn't make any difference to him, as long as he was getting a good fight.

"Heh. You're gonna regret saying _any_thing about my mother now," InuYasha grinned evilly.

They just glared at each other for a while. InuYasha looking up at the man in front of him, and the said man looking back down at him. The man was a huge fugitive, with a shoulder-length black ponytail, a broad face, extremely wide shoulders, and big, throbbing biceps. He was wearing a short, brown mini dress-like outfit, and sandals. At his belt was a long, sharp knife, which he hadn't drawn yet in his fight with InuYasha. The silver-haired half-demon was wearing his red haori. He wore no shoes, and let his wild mane run free.

They were standing in the middle of a town, right outside of the bar that the bigger man was drinking at. InuYasha had challenged him to a brawl, wanting a challenge.

Neither of them noticed the lone figure in the shadows that was watching them intently.

__

Heh, he's got no weapons, the thief thought. _I'll let him attack me for a while, then go straight at him when I get the chance._

_Well, I guess I should get on with it,_ InuYasha thought.

"RRRRAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" InuYasha roared, as he sent his fist straight into the thief's stomach. Then he leapt away, ready to charge again.

The man bent over, holding his stomach, the wind knocked out of him completely. He looked up at the hanyou and realized that he would have to get rid of him fast, if he wanted to come out of this fight alive. 

He straightened up. "Is that the best you got?" he said, wheezing from the effort it took him to talk. "I'll give you a tip: the closer you are to your opponent, the more times you can attack him. But I guess you won't do that, you coward."

InuYasha looked amazed at these words. Was he really a coward? Could he not attack well enough because he was too scared to stay close to the opponent?

No! He was _not_ a coward! He would show that bastard… 

"Well, that wasn't enough for you, eh? Then I'll give you SOME MORE!!!!!!" InuYasha screamed, as he got ready to send another punch.

"AHAAAAA!!!!" the bandit yelled, pulling his knife out just in time. 

InuYasha gasped as he felt a long, sharp blade, enter his stomach. He looked up at the bigger man, rage filling his eyes. He gathered up all of his strength, and…

CRACK!!!!!

The thief whimpered in pain as he let go of his knife (still in InuYasha's gut) and held his jaw, which InuYasha had just shattered with his right fist. 

InuYasha looked smugly at the thief, as he pulled the blade out of his body. He cringed as he fell to his knees. Great. Now he'd have to wait until this healed…

Suddenly, the figure that had been watching them fight came out from the shadows, and walked straight over to InuYasha. 

The half-demon saw a tall, slim, person in a black cape walk swiftly to him. He couldn't see its face, because it was deliberately hiding it with a hood.

"Was there anyone else with that man?" it asked, in a low, barely audible whisper.

"No," InuYasha answered, holding his gut, but trying to look like he was fine.

"Well, I'd like to give you some advice: you should observe things about your opponent before you decide to fight them. That way, they won't surprise you," and with that, the figure strode away, turned down another road, and disappeared.

InuYasha was shocked at the abruptness of the thing's words, and wondered what it was. He didn't even know if it was a man or a demon, because it used some sort of herbal spell to covered up its scent.

Then, he got an idea, and smiled. If that thing thought it knew so much about fighting, then he would be up to "observing" it.

~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~

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A Few Days Later:

InuYasha sniffed around the village. He had tracked the smell of herbs to this village. He was not going to lose this opponent. Somehow, finding this thing was very important to him. He couldn't explain it, but he felt kind of allured by it, and had to find it no matter what. 

He felt that this was the opponent he was meant to fight…

"Do you mean to follow me everywhere I go?" asked a quiet voice, from the shadows.

InuYasha turned around. There, standing behind him, was the thing in the black robe.

"You know, you shouldn't have given me that 'advice' the day before," InuYasha smirked. "I have decided to fight you."

"Really?" the voice inquired, with a sarcastic air. "Well, you'll have to wait until my business is finished."

InuYasha raised his eyebrows at the strange thing before him. What kind of business would it have in a run down village like this?

"Ahh. Here they come," said the black-robed figure.

InuYasha turned, and grinned.

Walking toward them was a gang of bandits. There was about ten or twelve of them, all with a weapon of some kind. 

The mysterious figure walked in front of InuYasha, and toward what seemed like the leader of the gang. He was the shortest person of the group, yet he had the largest knife of them all. He walked in front of the group, and held up a hand to stop his gang when he saw the black-robed thing walk straight up to him. 

"What do you want?" the leader asked the figure, having to look up to it. 

"I just have to check something," it said, looking around at the rest of the group. "Nope. Alright, then. My business here is finished."

The leader pulled out his oversized knife. He slashed at the robed figure, but it just leapt out of the way. 

"Fine, if that's how you want it," the voice sneered.

It punched the leader in the face with such force, that the small man fell backwards, and two of his men had to catch him. The rest attacked the thing all at once, but it was ready. It dodged their attacks easily, and knocked out one man with a single punch. Another tried to attack it from behind, but it whipped around and punched him in the stomach, causing him to bend over in pain. Then it brought its elbow down onto the back of his neck. 

InuYasha looked in amazement at the figure's swift, graceful moves. Then, as the figure was getting rid of one guy, another one, in a short blue outfit, snuck up behind it with his knife out. InuYasha ran to the brawl. 

"No way! That's _my_ next opponent!" InuYasha shouted, as he punched the guy in the side of the head. 

The fight went on until there were only two guys left. The robed figure quickly put out its guy, but InuYasha was just starting with the last one. The last member of the group pulled out his knife, and with blinding speed, somehow got himself behind InuYasha and stabbed him in the lower back more than once. 

The figure saw InuYasha fall onto his stomach, unconscious. It ran to the last man, with a speed that rivaled his own, punched him in the stomach, face, and chest, and ran back to InuYasha as the man fell to the ground. 

"Why'd he get involved? This wouldn't have happened if he only stayed out," said the figure, talking to itself.

It dragged InuYasha's unconscious body to the forest.

~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~

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That Night:

InuYasha woke up to find himself in a camp site in a forest. He groggily looked around and saw a fire cackling. Suddenly awake, he sat up abruptly. Then he cried out in pain, and fell back down, his back burning. 

_Damn,_ InuYasha thought. _That guy must have gotten in deep. _

"Awake, are you?"

__

InuYasha looked up to the hooded figure standing above him, with some firewood in its arms.

__

"When did I get here?" InuYasha asked.

__

"One of the men stabbed you, so I brought you to my camp," it answered.

__

InuYasha thought for a while. It can't be a demon if it brought him to its camp, so what is it?

__

"Something troubling you?" it asked.

__

"Er," said InuYasha, unsure if he should say it. "This might sound rude, but I have no idea what the hell you are."

__

The figure chuckled. "It's ok. I meant for it to be that way."

Then, it walked to the fire, put in the wood, and sat down across the fire from InuYasha. It brought out its hand from under its cape, and pulled off the hood.

InuYasha gasped and sat up, ignoring the pain. This wasn't at all what he thought it would be!

On the other side of the fire sat a beautiful, dark haired woman. She had dark blue eyes and fair skin.

"Surprised?" she asked, not at all with the same voice as before. "You're the first to find out."

"Why did you….?! How come…?! Who are you?! Why do you disguise yourself?!" InuYasha stammered.

She chuckled again. "I am Kagome Higurashi. And I disguise myself because I do not want anyone to interfere with my mission."

"Oh…sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have interfered with that fight," said InuYasha, starting to blush. Wait…why was he blushing?! "Well, if you wanted to keep your identity a secret, why did you show me?" he asked, trying to bring her attention away from his pink cheeks.

Kagome considered his question for a few seconds. 

"I don't know," she said with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I suppose because you asked."

InuYasha blushed even darker. _Damn! Why the hell do I blush every time she talks to me?_

Looking away from her blue eyes, InuYasha asked, "What's this 'mission' you talked about?"

"I am looking for my brother. He was kidnapped by a group of bandits ten years ago. The same group killed my mother, and tried to kill me also," she said, with no visible change in her face.

InuYasha's face went blank. _Wow. She says it so lightly. It's like she's looking for a lost pet, or something._

"I'm sorry," he said in a low whisper.

"It wasn't your fault, so you shouldn't say anything," she said in a kidding tone. "So what about you? Why are you so intent on fighting people who haven't done anything to you?"

"I'm InuYasha, and I travel around because of a premonition about me," said InuYasha, still in the low whisper. "_You will fight an opponent, steeped in mystery, to protect the thing you love most._" 

"So that's why you wanted to fight me?" Kagome asked, smiling.

"Maybe…" InuYasha mumbled, blushing again, and looking away.

Silence overtook them. Kagome continued to stoke the fire, and InuYasha stared awkwardly into space.

Suddenly, Kagome walked over to InuYasha, and kneeled behind him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly, eyeing his bandages.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," he answered, trying his best to act masculine.

"May I?" Kagome asked, touching his back, where his bandages were.

"Whatever," he said, blushing yet again.

Gently, Kagome wrapped her arms around InuYasha's torso to unravel his bandages. She looked carefully at the not-quite-healed wounds on his back. Some of them were almost completely healed, but a few of them were still open. She gently pushed on the area around one of his open wounds with her left hand.

"Owww!!!!" InuYasha exclaimed, grabbing her wrist, and turning around to face her.

"I'm sorry InuYasha, but I had to see how badly he got you," she whispered gently, looking into his golden eyes.

InuYasha dropped her hand as if they burned him to the touch. He turned back around and let her finish her inspection.

Kagome reached into her belt *A/N: it's kind of like Batman's utility belt*, and took out some more medicine and bandages.

"I just need to put on some medicine and clean bandages, ok?" she asked.

"Whatever," he said again.

She took some ointment and gently rubbed it onto InuYasha's back. To his amazement, it didn't sting at all. But, for the fifth time that night, he blushed, this time from her gentle touch. 

Kagome noticed his skin getting slightly warmer, so she quickly grabbed the bandages. She unraveled it and held one end on the lower part of his back.

"InuYasha, can you hold this?" she asked.

He didn't answer, but just held the bandage in place while she wrapped it around his lower stomach, and slowly worked it up to the middle of his back.

InuYasha tried ignoring the heat in his cheeks. He would never admit that every time Kagome's skin accidentally brushed up against him he felt butterflies in his stomach… 

Had it come to this? Was he really so weak as to let this mysterious, beautiful human make him feel this way?

"All done," she said.

"Kagome?" InuYasha asked as she helped him put his shirt back on.

"Yes?"

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked.

"I did what you are doing now," she said. "Going around and looking for fights. I was left with no money, so I could not go to a school, or anything."

"But it seems as though you _know_ what your opponent is going to do next. _No_body could learn that just from common brawling," InuYasha said, finally turning around to look at her.

"Yes, you're right," Kagome agreed. "I did _not_ learn that off the streets."

Kagome's hands appeared from under her cloak. She undid the fasten of that mysterious robe, and let it fall to the ground around her.

Under her cloak, Kagome wore all black. She wore a plain pair of pants and a shirt. They fit her form perfectly, which helped to show off an incredibly curvy figure. 

InuYasha sniffed the air. Kagome's alluring herbal scent was suddenly gone, but it left a scent just as intoxicating. _It's her true scent,_ InuYasha thought. _But it's not entirely human…_

"Do you smell it in me?" Kagome asked him. "Do you know what my mother really was?"

"She was a…_majo_?!" InuYasha stammered, complete shock in his voice.

"Yes. Witches have the power to see into the future, which is why I can predict the opponent's next move," Kagome sighed. "My mother knew that the gang would come to kill her. I was nearly killed too, because I had a little magic in my blood. But sorcery can not be passed down to boys unless both parents are magical. That is why the bandits kidnapped Sota, rather than killing him. They were in need of some new 'recruits,' I suppose."

"So, you're father was a human?" InuYasha asked, still amazed.

"Yes. My father was a priest, and we all lived on a shrine. But one day, he tried exterminating a demon, and he died in the attempt." she explained.

_Wow,_ InuYasha thought. _She's a half-breed too._

"Are you sick?" Kagome asked, wondering why InuYasha had that strange look on his face.

"No," he said. "I'm just shocked. I've finally found someone like me."

"Someone like you?" Kagome echoed, her eyes twinkling.

"Yes. My father was a demon, and my mother was a human," he explained. "I have never met another half-breed before."

"Neither have I," Kagome admitted, a dreamy look on her face. "InuYasha, do you intend to stay until morning?"

Thinking it was a hint, InuYasha quickly said, "No, I'll leave as soon as I get this damn thing on."

As he was fumbling with his haori, Kagome smiled.

"InuYasha, I don't want you to leave."

He froze, his haori half way on, and turned to see Kagome's face.

"Earlier, you asked me why I showed you my true identity," she said slowly. "And the true answer is because I had a feeling that you would understand."

"Understand?" he repeated, confused.

"Yes. When I revealed my secret to you, you were surprised, but not disgusted," she looked down and put her hands on her knees. "That is one of the reasons I hide myself. I feel like, if I let other people see who I am, then they will despise me. But somehow, it was different with you."

As a tear streamed down her face, Kagome felt another hand on hers. She looked up to see InuYasha kneeling next to her.

"Kagome, you will never be alone again."

Kagome started to cry harder, and laid her head on InuYasha's chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and for the first time that night, didn't blush at Kagome's closeness. 

A/N: I'm not sure if this'll be one of the better chapters of this story. Anyway, tell me if you like the idea, and how I could improve this shipwreck of a story…

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Translations (wow, is that it?):

Majo- witch

Haori- InuYasha's shirt thingy


End file.
